A key question for retirees is whether to stick with familiar activities or try something new. There are many answers

Mechanical engineer Joe Szuba of Dearborn, Mich., was elated when his early-retirement package came through. A 35-year veteran of the Ford Motor Co. who supervised a rapid-tooling project at the company's scientific-research laboratory, he cleared out his desk on a Friday afternoon. Two days later he was at his new job--as a consultant for Koppy Corp., an automotive-equipment firm he had worked with during his Ford years--to help carry out a previously shelved Ford project. "It made sense to me," he says. Since "retiring," Szuba, now 61, has incorporated his own consulting company, gained two other clients and filed for five...